Winter Catalog for Bookstores

We all succeed with the MIBA winter catalog. With this powerful marketing tool, the entire indie sales channel collectively gets behind the most exciting books to sell in indie bookstores during the holiday season. We collaborate with publishers, wholesalers, and booksellers to make sure the catalog books are purchased by our booksellers, merchandised in our bookstores, and sold to book lovers throughout the Midwest.

You should know

What books are in the winter catalog?

• Title list. The title list is constantly growing and will be complete as of late August. Publishers book placement, then return to upload title data, so some fields may be blank. The link is continuously updated, so check back frequently.

COMING SOON!

For stores who ordered the catalog in 2024: You will be emailed directly to place your order for 2025 via a custom link that displays last year's order. Do not use the form linked below.

For new stores and those who did not order in 2024: Use the button below to place your order.

Pricing

• Custom front and back cover: $175
• Custom inside front cover: $175
• Catalogs shipped to store or newspapers: $30 per box of 500
  • The first 1,000 catalogs shipped to stores or newspapers are free
• Catalogs mailed via customer list or saturation: $0.28 per catalog
• Point of Sale Package: $70

• August 15: Bookstore orders due, including all customized files
• September 10: Deadline to approve custom covers
• September 15: Saturation mailings finalized with booksellers and Midstates Group
• October 29: Bulk catalogs start shipping to stores and newspapers
• November 1-5: Saturation and customer list catalogs arrive in home
• November 1-5: Bulk catalogs arrive at bookstores and newspapers

Here are some ideas for maximizing the catalog after you place your order. 

August through October

• Order catalog books direct from the publisher
  • Pay special attention to titles that will do well in your store and really get behind them. Order in larger numbers and plan a custom display strategy with face-outs, a special section, shelf-talkers and more
• Let us help you plan your in-store display -- purchase a point of sale package during the ordering process!
• Plan your digital marketing strategy. Use MIBA's digital assets, publisher resources, and DIY digital marketing templates

Custom Front & Back Cover (examples from last year), $175

Bookstores are encourage to replace the standard MIBA branding on the catalog cover with their logo and store info (address, website, store hours, etc.). On the back, you can add specific store messaging such as a coupon for purchasing catalog titles or additional store information. Click here and look above to view an example of a customized front and back cover from the 2024 catalog.

• Submit just the logo and text and we will design it for you
• Submit the completed graphic you’d like to appear on the catalog for us to place

What you'll need for ordering

• Store logo: This will be used on your custom front cover
  • Specs: Black & white (NOT grayscale), minimum 300 dpi as a .pdf, .jpg, .tif, .psd, or .ai file
• Text for front cover: Store info you'd like to include (address, website, contact info, store hours, etc.)
• Text for back cover: Include the details of either additional messaging to customers or a coupon offer to incentivize shoppers to find more books.
• Store postal address: This is the address that will appear on the back cover as the return mailing address. This must be a physical address (not a PO Box) where mail can be received

Timing and submitting your order:

• The logo, text, and address are due August 15. If not uploaded in the order form, email the file to melissa@midwestbooksellers.org.

Custom Inside Front Cover, $175

This is another opportunity to replace the generic MIBA branding on the inside front cover. The internal front cover has a full color border designed by us with a black and white inside graphic designed by you. Click here and see image to the right to view an example of a customized inside front cover from the 2024 catalog.

Pro tip: Get creative with the inside front cover. There's a lot of possibilities.

• Partner with a local tourism group to promote your region
• Sell ads to other local businesses in your area to offset your catalog costs
• Feature non-book items your store sells
• Feature a holiday event series

Inside front cover specs: 4.5" W x 7.75" H, black and white (not grayscale), high-quality, .jpg, .png, .ai, or print-ready PDF

Timing and submitting your order:

• Designing this graphic is your responsibility so please plan ahead. Final inside front cover files are due August 15. If not uploaded here, email the file to melissa@midwestbooksellers.org.

Catalogs to store: $30 per box of 500

The first 1,000 catalogs shipped to store or newspapers are free. You may choose to have catalogs shipped to your store for you and your booksellers to manually distribute to your customers. The catalog makes a great bag stuffer at the register. Many stores team up with other area businesses or chambers of commerce to stock the catalog in their area.

What you'll need for ordering

• Number of catalogs you want to ship to your store. Must be in quantities of 500

Catalogs to newspaper(s): $30 per box of 500

First 1,000 catalogs shipped to store or newspapers are free.

This method of distribution ships boxes of catalogs directly to your area newspaper(s) for insertion. You will need to coordinate directly with your newspaper(s) for the cost and timing of insertion. The cost to ship boxes to newspapers is $30 per box. The first 1,000 catalogs shipped to your store or newspapers are free.

Currently, catalogs to newspapers are scheduled to start shipping on 10/29/25 with the expectation that they need 5 days for delivery. Talk with your newspaper about the flexibility of insertion dates and the possibility for storing catalogs if they arrive early.

Pro tip: Use the newspaper ordering section of the form to send boxes to multiple store locations or regional visitor centers.

Requirements for newspaper insertion

• You are responsible for coordinating costs and timing directly with your newspaper(s)
• The front & back cover should be customized. While this is not strictly a requirement, it is highly recommended. Without your store name, potential customers will not know where to shop

What you'll need for ordering

• Newspaper information including name, address, contact person, and phone number. The address you provide should be the location where the newspaper receives boxes for insertion. This is often different from a newspaper's office location
• Number of catalogs shipped to each newspaper must be in quantities of 500

Catalog Specs: (Your newspaper will want this info) One single catalog weighs 0.8528 oz. and is 6 x 10.5 inches

Direct mail: We offer two direct mail options

Customer mailing (in-house List): $0.28 per catalog - Reach existing customers

Mail catalogs directly to your existing customer mailing list. You provide us with your customer mailing list and we mail the catalogs to them. No need for any additional work on your part.

Requirements for customer mailing list

• The front and back cover must be customized (postal requirement)
• Minimum of 200 addresses on your mailing list. We can use saturation mailing to supplement if needed to reach the minimum

What you'll need for ordering

• Number of addresses on your customer mailing list
• Excel or .csv file with your customer mailing information. Must be formatted with: recipient name, street address, suite/apartment/unit #, city, state, zip code. Click here to download an excel template

Saturation mailing: $0.28 per catalog - Reach new customers

With saturation mailing, catalogs are sent to every home on a zip code mailing route that you select. Picture this as the route your mail-person walks/drives in a single day. If you've ever received a restaurant coupon flyer or the local car dealership's new line-up postcard, then you know about saturation mailing. Saturation mailing is a great way to entice new customers to your store and one of our most popular catalog marketing options.

Catalogs can be sent to homes in a radius around your store, or you can select specific mailing routes to deliver coupons.

Pro tip: Determine your catalog budget first and use that number to determine how many catalogs you want to mail. Understanding how many catalogs you want to mail will help narrow or expand the area you saturate with catalogs.

Requirements for saturation mailing

• The front and back cover must be customized (postal requirement)
• Catalogs must be sent to the entire mailing route
• Additional follow up is required to finalize your saturation mailing

What you'll need for ordering

• Number of catalogs you would like to mail via saturation mailing. This will be used to provide you with zip code routes that match the number of catalogs you would like to mail. (Without this, the options are overwhelming.)
• If you would like to target specific zip codes, you'll need to provide those zip codes